Tens of Thousands Across U.S. Protest President Trump's Refugee and Travel Bans (Video)

Crowds gathered at airports and in dozens of cities nationwide to voice their opposition to the executive orders that barred entry into the U.S. by people from seven Muslim-majority nations. 

www.advocate.com/politics/2017/1/29/tens-thousands-across-us-protest-president-trumps-refugee-and-travel-bans-video

WH Chief of Staff: ‘There’s No Regret’ That Jews Were Left Out of Holocaust Remembrance Statement

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus defended a statement put out by the White House on Holocaust Remembrance Day that did not mention Jewish people or anti-Semitism.

2/2 Puzzling and troubling @WhiteHouse #HolocaustMemorialDay stmt has no mention of Jews. GOP and Dem. presidents have done so in the past. pic.twitter.com/BvZVVoPUSi

— Jonathan Greenblatt (@JGreenblattADL) January 27, 2017

Meet the Press host Chuck Todd read Priebus a condemnation of the statement from conservative columnist John Podhoretz:

“The Final Solution was aimed solely at the Jews. The Holocaust was about the Jews. There is no ‘proud’ way to offer a remembrance of the Holocaust that does not reflect that simple, awful world historical fact. To universalize it to, quote, ‘All those who suffered,’ is to scrub the Holocaust of its meaning.”

He then asked Priebus if he had any regrets about the White House’s statement.

Priebus said no:

The WH statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day didn’t explicitly mention Jews. @Reince‘s defense: “I don’t regret the words, Chuck.” #MTP pic.twitter.com/mFYQ2pyeKi

— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) January 29, 2017

Trump spokesman Hope Hicks excused the statement as well, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper that “despite what the media reports, we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered.”

The post WH Chief of Staff: ‘There’s No Regret’ That Jews Were Left Out of Holocaust Remembrance Statement appeared first on Towleroad.

WH Chief of Staff: ‘There’s No Regret’ That Jews Were Left Out of Holocaust Remembrance Statement

Anger from Airport Protest Sparks #DeleteUber Campaign, Gives Rival Boost (Video)

Although Uber’s CEO is pledging to support drivers impacted by Trump’s travel ban, the company’s decision to not honor an airport strike by taxi drivers sparked outrage online as customers fled to Lyft.

www.advocate.com/politics/2017/1/29/anger-airport-protest-sparks-deleteuber-campaign-gives-rival-boost-video

Trump Defends Order, Accuses John McCain and Lindsey Graham of ‘Looking to Start World War III’

Donald Trump lashed out at GOP senators Lindsey Graham (R-NC) and John McCain (R-AZ) on Sunday afternoon after they criticized his unconstitutional, unconscionable, immoral executive order barring citizens from seven nations from entering the U.S.. A Muslim ban, essentially.

Trump hit Twitter, writing: “The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong – they are sadly weak on immigration. The two……Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.”

The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong – they are sadly weak on immigration. The two…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

…Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Said Graham and McCain’s statement:

“Our government has a responsibility to defend our borders, but we must do so in a way that makes us safer and upholds all that is decent and exceptional about our nation.

“It is clear from the confusion at our airports across the nation that President Trump’s executive order was not properly vetted. We are particularly concerned by reports that this order went into effect with little to no consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security.

“Such a hasty process risks harmful results. We should not stop green-card holders from returning to the country they call home. We should not stop those who have served as interpreters for our military and diplomats from seeking refuge in the country they risked their lives to help. And we should not turn our backs on those refugees who have been shown through extensive vetting to pose no demonstrable threat to our nation, and who have suffered unspeakable horrors, most of them women and children.

“Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism. At this very moment, American troops are fighting side-by-side with our Iraqi partners to defeat ISIL. But this executive order bans Iraqi pilots from coming to military bases in Arizona to fight our common enemies. Our most important allies in the fight against ISIL are the vast majority of Muslims who reject its apocalyptic ideology of hatred. This executive order sends a signal, intended or not, that America does not want Muslims coming into our country. That is why we fear this executive order may do more to help terrorist recruitment than improve our security.”

Trump released a statement of his own later on Sunday, via The White House:

“America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave. We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say. My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting. This is not about religion – this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days. I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are suffering.”

The post Trump Defends Order, Accuses John McCain and Lindsey Graham of ‘Looking to Start World War III’ appeared first on Towleroad.

Trump Defends Order, Accuses John McCain and Lindsey Graham of ‘Looking to Start World War III’

Must-See LGBTQ TV: SAG Awards honor Lily Tomlin, 'Black Sails' and 'The Fosters' return, 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' season finale

www.glaad.org/blog/must-see-lgbtq-tv-sag-awards-honor-lily-tomlin-black-sails-and-fosters-return-crazy-ex

Ellen Page Is Protesting, Are You?

The out actress joined airport activists protesting President Trump’s immigration ban.

www.advocate.com/people/2017/1/29/ellen-page-protesting-are-you

Donald Trump’s Unconstitutional, Unconscionable, Immoral Executive Order

On Friday, Donald Trump, who lost the popular vote, signed an executive order that undermines many of the basic principles upon which this country was founded.

The Order suspends U.S. visas and green cards for citizens from 7 Muslim-majority countries. It suspends all refugee admissions for 4 months. And it bars entry for Syrian refugees indefinitely.

On Saturday, government agents at United States airports started stopping men, women, and children who fall into any of these categories. They detained them. And, in some cases, turned them away. This executive action is unconscionable, forcing refugees, even people who have worked for the United States military, into a legal limbo that can endanger their lives. The order is also unconstitutional.

On Saturday night, lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) won a stay of part of the Order at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn. This is only temporary and it only addresses part of the Order, the part that would have allowed some deportations. The challenge continues. But it should succeed.

This post challenges the Order, discusses how the ACLU won the stay, and what happens next. Future posts will go into more detail.

The Order bans entry into the United States for citizens of Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. Mr. Trump and his team did not choose the countries out of thin air. They are listed in 8 U.S.C. 1187(a)(12), a provision of federal law that takes these countries out of the visa-waiver program. That program allows citizens from many countries to visit the US for short times without visas.

Choosing these countries actually undermines Mr. Trump’s justification for the Order. He said the Order is intended to protect this country from terrorists. Here are some facts about the relationship between terrorism in the US and these countries. Not a single citizen of these countries has carried out, or even attempted to carry out, an attack on US soil. Of the 19 terrorists involved in the attacks on September 11, 2001, none of their countries of citizenship are on the list. And what about the San Bernardino shooter, or the Pulse Nightclub shooter? They were US citizens, and would not have been subject to this order.

These countries, however, do represent over 40% of the American refugee intake (Syria, of course, being the largest source). And so we get stories like this: People prevented from boarding flights; refugees, many of whom spent years going through the process of gaining legal entry into the US to find safety and a better life, stranded in foreign lands; and Iraqis who literally worked as translators and support staff for the American military denied entry. And, don’t forget about the highly educated, pro-American Iranian students stuck overseas and Google recalling its foreign workers because, well, the company has no idea what could happen to its highly educated, productive workforce.

Because the Order applies to only 7 countries, Mr. Trump (and the unsurprisingly supportive Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, and the very silent and compliant Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell) can argue that this is not a “Muslim ban.” Except, it is. It has a carve out for “religious minorities.” The religious minority to which the Order nods, as Mr. Trump himself admitted, is the Christian minority.

Never before has the power of the state been used to create a religious test for entry into this country. President Carter banned certain classifications of Iranians after that country’s 1980 revolution, but it never barred an entire country. And the National Security Entry-Exit program, the post-9/11 immigration policy, did not ban entry, but rather required an additional layer of screening for people coming from countries like Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. And, in any event, the NSEE was a failure.

If all of this doesn’t matter, at least one thing is certain: the Order is unconstitutional.

On Saturday, the ACLU won a temporary stay of part of the Order. In particular, anyone wanting to stop a law (or, in this case, an executive order) from going into effect has to demonstrate that she will likely win her case on the merits. That is, to get a stay, you have to make a credible argument that the law or order you want stopped is unconstitutional. The court agreed, presumably because removing someone from this country without due process violates the Due Process Clause and removing someone simply because that person comes from a Muslim-majority country violates the Equal Protection Clause.

The ACLU also showed, quite easily, that implementing the program would do irreparable harm to the victims. Indeed, turning someone away could send them back to a dangerous situation.

The temporary stay also ended with a great line: Until a hearing can be held, the stay “enjoined and restrained” the government “from the commission of further acts and misconduct in violation of the Constitution,” which presumes that what Mr. Trump did was already violating the Constitution. That’s how federal judges throw shade.

There is much more to this story, including the utter incompetence with which Mr. Trump’s order was written and disseminated, the complicity of Republicans in Congress, and the curious silence of affinity organizations whose people have been victimized by refugee bans before.

The world has seen this type of step-by-step erosion of democracy before. We can’t let it happen again.

The post Donald Trump’s Unconstitutional, Unconscionable, Immoral Executive Order appeared first on Towleroad.

Donald Trump’s Unconstitutional, Unconscionable, Immoral Executive Order